At 7:15pm, I was notified by our call captain Gwenda that a 19 year old male reported himself lost in the Dripping Springs area of Temecula. The subject was a new resident of Temecula who had recently moved out to the area from New York State. He wanted to explore the trails near his home and he decided to take a solo afternoon hike. As it became dark in the evening he realized that he was lost and was unable to find his way back to the trailhead. At this point he decided to make a phone call requesting help. He didn’t have a map or a GPS, but he was able to report his approximate location to a Riverside Sheriff’s Deputy.

I drove to Hemet Ryan Airport and met up with the Aviation Personnel on duty that night and departed via Star 9 the Sheriff’s helicopter. It didn’t take long to reach the reported location. We circled the location and were quickly able to locate our subject below as he used his cell phone as flashlight. I was lowered down on the hoist cable and made contact with the subject. I talk to him and told him that I would be putting him a screamer suit (A big bag with places for his legs and arms) with an attachment point to clip the hoist cable. He was hoisted up first and then I was hoisted out last. We flew over to a point on the ground where a Sheriff’s Deputy was waiting and dropped him off to safety. We then returned back to Hemet Ryan Airport. The whole mission was over in less than two hours.